Netbook demand plummets while shoppers snap up iPads

This article and "survey" is pure crap... A pour attempt to compare apples vs oranges. Especially to draw a conclusion that the iPad is affecting netbook sales.

Netbooks are stupid because they run Windows.

I see several problems that ended up making netbooks a no go.

1.
Windows and ATOM do not mix well at all. Even though we always get someone chiming in saying how great his netbook is, the sad reality is performance sucks.

2.
Netbook makers gave up on Linux. Linux needed a champion on the netbook platform in the same way that Apple pushed iOS. A big key there was app store which has more to do with selling iPhones and iPads than many want to admit to.

3.
Usabiliry of the micro screens and keyboards has been another big issue. It is no surprise that Apple didn't compromise here with their rev'ed AIRs. Laptop keyboards are small enough as it is and the netbooks had really crappy keyboards. Likewise screen quality was terrible, especially when little was scaled for the screen resolitions.

In any event I agree with the other points alluded to here and believe the netbook decline was on its way well bwfore iPad. It will be interesting to see how Apples new AIRs sell afyer the early adopter crowd gets their fill. In a sense Apple avoided all of the known netbook issues except one. AIRs do not run windows, they don't have an ATOM inside, they don't have cramped keyboards or lack in memory. The only issue they do have is the high resolution display that makes things cramped on screen.

Honestly I expect a manufacture or two to take another stab at the sub notebook market and likely model the product after Apples new AIRs. With AMDs new chips and new ULV processors from Intel they might end up with accepyable product. That is if they can find a viable OS.

So - why are netbooks so 'stupid'?
My little eee pc is small, light, has amazing battery life, is pretty tough - and with 3 USB3.0 ports, 250GB hard drive, SD slot, wifi and gigE, VGA connector it's great for getting work done on the go - making notes, email/web browsing, doing presentations or even watching moves. It's also cheap - so if I drop it and break it I just buy another. Because I'm using Windows Live Mesh, all my documents are synchronised between the netbook and my desktop.
You know what is stupid? The ipad. Get real people - the ipad is just a gimmick.

Window 7 doesn't run worth a damn on a netbook. Plus they give you "starter edition", which is really stripped down. Also, I think the people that bought netbooks didn't like Vista, and 7 looks the same.

I knew netbooks would drop off once they stopped being able to put XP on them.

The iPad is not helping netbooks at all, but, it's not really in the same price bracket. (The $449 refurb 16Gb is close though)

It will either take a linux distro that is purpose built (ie not ubuntu, more like Meego or Jolicloud) preinstalled to fix netbook sales, or if XP Home is allowed again. It is Microsoft that killed netbooks by requiring 7.

(Of course, you could argue that Microsoft created the demand for netbooks in the first place, as netbooks were new machines regular people could get in a store with XP on them in the time of Vista)

Just a theory

I think people finally realized that netbooks are stupid.

I agree the iPad is impacting netbook (and notebook) sales, but that can't be the only factor here. The decline in netbook sales began six months before the iPad was announced; as much as we geeks like to follow rumors, I doubt the entire netbook market was putting purchases on hold due to rumors six months in advance of the official announcement.

Is it possible that the netbook market had a major boost of excitement, and then people realized it wasn't all that great after all? Can't really speak from experience, netbooks never held much attraction for me in the first place.